Moving wasn't an unusual occurrence for us, so we were able to adjust to our new place in Redlands rather quickly. We had some very nice neighbors, one of which was Bishop Bonilla of the Redlands 1st Ward. The missionaries from our last area contacted the missionaries in our new area. Now this part of the story is a bit fuzzy:
According to Elder Labrum:
He and his companion, Elder Kelii, came knocking on our door. Our door had a glass opening at the top and Elder Labrum is 6'3". He said that he saw me look into the peephole, saw that it was just the missionaries, and then turned around. It sounds like something I'd do, but I don't remember doing that. Elder Labrum then said he and Elder Kelii immediately went over to the good Bishop's house to call our house. I do remember answering the phone and the conversation I had with Elder Labrum. I remember it because he'd mentioned Elder Jones from our last area and a moment of dread came over me. I thought, "Great, they found us." Elder Jones from our last area had once called me and asked me to read scriptures over the phone with him. I know his intentions were in the right place, but it was kind of creepy to me.
According to my mom:
It was she that actually looked into the peephole and chose not to open the door.
According to me:
I think my mom snubbed the Elders at the door, but it was I they caught on the phone.
Whichever way it really happened, we were goners to Elder Labrum's charms.
Elder Labrum was a good ol' boy from Utah. He was the over-confident-jock-type. We absolutely adored him. And still do. Elder Kelii was the quiet-sensitive-type who won our hearts as well. We've since lost touch with Elder Kelii, as he moved back to Hawaii after his mission. They were the perfect missionaries for us. My mom invited them in to teach us. I was in and out most of the time, but I would stop and listen to them out of politeness, but usually didn't stay for the whole thing. Because we were single women, they usually had a 3rd missionary with them or someone from the ward came along. I thought they were nice and Elder Labrum was nice to look at, but that was it. After a few visits, they asked my mom if she was ready to be baptized. She said yes!
WAIT A MINUTE! HELLO?!!! MOTHER?!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!
These were just a few of my thoughts.
I never thought in a million years that my mother would EVER commit to something like this. I thought she was crazy. I thought it was just a phase she was going through. I still marvel at the thought of it. It truly was a miracle.
My mom was baptized May, 28 1997. She was happy. A kind of happy that I hadn't seen in her in a very long time.
My mom on her baptism day with little Matty Tanner
Our missionaries
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Now I need to take a detour for a minute. Our joining the Church wasn't a series of linear events, as is probably the case for any convert. This was years in the making. My mom was a Hospice nurse at the time where she worked with terminally-ill patients. During my senior year in high school, my mom met a nice Latter-day Saint family of one of the patients she visited. The daughter of her patient, Karen Tanner, became good friends with my mom. When my mom was baptized, Karen said that she saw her mother there (who had since passed away). This family had a lot to do with why my mom was so ready to accept the Church's teachings.
The Tanner family minus one
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At that time, I still had some hang-ups. Firstly, and this is silly to me now, I had a hard time with the whole modesty thing. I liked my short-daisy-duke shorts and tank tops. I couldn't imagine giving them up. I know, such a trivial thing, but it really was a huge concern for me.
Secondly, the temple thing bugged me. Why was it so secretive? Why couldn't we take a tour? Why couldn't they talk about what went on inside? Why did they do baptisms for the dead?
And thirdly, this church was just so different. I didn't know if I was brave enough to be so different from everyone else. There wasn't antagonism against the Church, but there were some denominations that taught classes about its falseness. If I were to become a Lutheran or Methodist, etc., noone would bat an eyelash. If I were to become a Mormon, I was afraid I'd be looked at like a member of some cult. I also had a boyfriend that I'd been dating for 1 1/2 years. I honestly think I would have married him if I hadn't joined the church. Mostly because he was comfortable and I wasn't using my whole brain when we were dating. He was okay with me investigating the Church, but we slowly began drifting apart.
I think it's funny that I didn't have issues with Joseph Smith's First Vision or the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I was okay with the explanations given by the missionaries. I didn't have any problems with tithing or giving up alcohol or keeping a virtuous life. I guess all that stuff was a no-brainer for me.
Just like the Tanner family helped my mom ease into this new life. There were some key people that helped me take the plunge.
To be continued...
5 comments:
Good reading! I look forward to the next.
Yes! This is my favorite. I feel like I'm getting to know you so much more reading this stuff. Can't wait for next week.
Can't wait til next week. Happy late birthday, you handled the big one so graciously. I think I might crawl in a hole when I hit that one in a couple years.
This is so fun to read. I love being brought back to that time. It was a great experience for me to watch you take the step of baptism. Can't wait to read the rest!
Happy Belated Birthday!!! I have been fine with the whole 30 thing until my health insurance (we are self employed so insurance is a huge cost for us) sent me a letter stating that I am about to enter another age bracket and therefore my insurance is going to increase $100 a month. Oh my goodness, am I that old?! Glad you had a good day!
I can't wait for Part III. I have enjoyed reading this. It has made me want to hear my dad's story of conversion. He joined the church after me and then my sister were born. I have totally taken it for granted and want to hear his story.
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